NRL exploring audacious return
Key Australian Government exemptions signed off late on Monday night have cleared the way for the NRL to explore an audacious bid to have the competition back up and running as early as next month.
The sweeping public health orders signed by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirm the new restrictions do not ‘‘prevent the conduct of events (such as sporting or racing events)’’.
The exemption was noted with interest at rugby league headquarters, although a government source said the decision to suspend the competition had been the NRL’S, pointing out that racing had been able to continue in NSW.
The newly formed NRL innovation committee, led by ARL commissioner Wayne Pearce, met for the first time on Wednesday morning and is working with government to map out a plan that could see the competition return weeks before the anticipated July 1 best-case scenario and save thousands of jobs across the sporting industry.
Operation Bubble, or Project Apollo as Pearce referred to the committee, would see teams potentially split into conferences across different isolated locations in NSW. The plan hinges on medical and expert advice the governing body is expecting in the next week in relation to the trend of coronavirus infection rates.
The NRL has noted the number of new Covid-19 cases in Australia per day has actually decreased since it suspended the competition on March 23, when 328 new cases were recorded.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, 271 and 299 new cases respectively were recorded, less than when the NRL acted on the advice of its pandemic and biosecurity expert – not the government – to stop the season.
The NRL innovation committee, which also includes the
NRL’S Andrew Abdo, Graham Annesley and Liz Deegan – as well as Roosters coach Trent Robinson, Raiders chief executive Don Furner, RLPA boss Clint Newton and former deputy premier Troy Grant, will meet again next Thursday, when plans to restart the season in the coming weeks will be escalated.
There is nothing stopping the NRL, under current NSW government rules, from restarting its competition immediately in one state, although the NRL is keen to ensure a resumption does not cause any concern for the broader community.
As it stands, the Warriors aren’t allowed in the country, although the NRL is still working with the New Zealand government to determine whether the team would be able to travel across the ditch if the players selfisolated for 14 days.
The Queensland government, which has shut its borders, is allowing people to travel in and out of the state for work purposes, and the NRL is in discussions to gain clarity on whether it would be able to bring 13 teams into a centralised Queensland location, casting doubt over the Gladstone proposal.
While the NRL is sensitive to the situation confronting most of its fans during the pandemic, strict testing and quarantine measures are being planned to ensure players would be safer in a ‘‘bubble’’ environment and pose no risk to the community.
The NRL is also waiting on clarification in regards to the 1.5-metre social distancing. Clearly, the sport would not be able to adhere to that restriction, but in a boost for the game’s of hopes of returning it has been noted that jockeys in racing are within the threshold at the barriers and at times during races.